Foot-and-Mouth (1)Disease

                         22 防止口蹄疫的传播

DATE=3-17-01
TITLE=IN THE NEWS #472 - Foot-and-Mouth (1)Disease¹
BYLINE=George Grow

  (Start at 1'08" )This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program, IN THE NEWS.
The United² States and other countries this week (2)banned imports of animals and animal products from the European Union. The actions are part of an international effort to stop the spread of foot-and-mouth disease. The disease causes huge (3)economic losses³ for farmers and the meat industry.
Foot-and-mouth disease was confirmed⁴ in pigs last month at a meat production center east of London. Since then, more than two-hundred-fifty cases of the disease have been reported in Britain and Northern (4)Ireland. The United States announced its (5)temporary ban on some E-U exports after it was discovered the disease had spread to one area of France.
E-U officials have (6)criticized the (7)restrictions. They say the ban should (8)target the affected⁵ countries, not all fifteen E-U member countries.
Foot and mouth disease affects cows, deer, goats, pigs and sheep. Animals who get the disease develop cuts in their mouths and on their feet. Many affected animals recover. However, the disease weakens⁶ them. The disease is not considered dangerous to humans. People spread the (9)virus⁷ because they carry in on their clothing and shoes.
Experts say the virus can live for long periods in the body of an animal and in animal waste products. The virus also is able to (10)survive in the air and in water and fields.
There are at least seven forms of the foot-and-mouth virus. One or more (11)versions⁸ can attack animals at the same time. An animal can suffer repeated attacks of the disease. This is because natural (12)resistance to one form of the virus does not protect it against other versions.
Experts urge⁹ farmers to watch for signs of food-and-mouth disease, such as an animal having trouble walking. Another sign of the disease is a large amount of fluid¹⁰ leaking¹¹ from the mouth of a farm animal.
Experts say foot-and-mouth disease spreads quickly unless it is found early and stopped (13)immediately. The main method of controlling the disease is to kill animals that might be affected. Britain began destroying hundreds of thousands of healthy animals Friday to try to stop the disease from spreading.
This week, some countries banned beef imports from Argentina after foot-and-mouth disease was found there. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab¹² (14)Emirates also reported cases of the disease.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says no country can consider itself safe from the risk of foot-and-mouth disease. It is calling for international action to prevent the spread of the disease. The F-A-O (15)urges countries most at risk to strengthen¹³ controls at border crossings. It notes that vehicles¹⁴ and travelers can easily spread the disease. And, it advises officials to develop plans in the event the disease spreads to animals in their country.
This VOA Special English program, IN THE NEWS, was written by George Grow. This is Steve Ember.

(1) disease[ di5zi:z ]n.疾病, 弊病
(2) ban[ bB:n ]n.禁令vt.禁止, 取缔(书刊等)
(3) economic[ 7i:kE5nCmik ]adj.经济(上)的, 产供销的, 经济学的
(4) Ireland[ 5aiElEnd ]n.爱尔兰
(5) temporary[ 5tempErEri ]adj.暂时的, 临时的, 临时性
(6) criticize[ 5kritisaiz ]v.批评, 责备
(7) restriction[ ris5trikFEn ]n.限制, 约束
(8) target[ 5tB:^it ]n.目标, 对象, 靶子
(9) virus[ 5vaiErEs ]n.[微]病毒, 滤过性微生物, 毒害, 恶毒
(10) survive[ sE5vaiv ]v.幸免于, 幸存, 生还
(11) version[ 5vE:FEn ]n.译文, 译本, 翻译
(12) resistance[ ri5zistEns ]n.反抗, 抵抗, 抵抗力, 阻力, 电阻, 阻抗
(13) immediately[ i5mi:djEtli ]adv.立即, 马上, 直接地
(14) emirate[ e5miErit ]n.阿拉伯酋长(贵族、王公)之职位或阶级, 酋长国
(15) urge[ E:dV ]vt.催促, 力劝n.强烈欲望, 迫切要求v.促进

1 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

2 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

3 losses   

n.损失( loss的名词复数 )；损耗；失败；降低

参考例句：

• Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。
• The army was forced to retreat after suffering heavy losses. 部队因伤亡惨重被迫撤退。

4 confirmed   

adj.确认的；坚定的；根深蒂固的v.批准(confirm的过去式和过去分词)；证实

参考例句：

• Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。
• The truth of his conjecture was confirmed by the newspaper report. 新闻报道证明了他的推测果然不假。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 weakens   

v.（使）削弱， （使）变弱( weaken的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• "Cousins shouldn't marry, even second cousins. It weakens the strain. "表兄妹不应该结婚，就是从表兄妹也不应该，那会削弱血统的。 来自飘（部分）
• The burlesque element weakens the serious portions of the book. 书里的戏谑成分使严肃部分受到损害。 来自辞典例句

7 virus   

n.病毒，滤过性微生物，毒害，恶毒；（一个能够复制、感染其他程序或破坏操作系统的程序）

参考例句：

• He is suffering from a virus infection.他受到病毒感染。
• There is a virus going round the world.世界上流行着一种病毒性疾病。

8 versions   

n.译本( version的名词复数 )；版本；（个人对事件的）描述；（原物的）变体

参考例句：

• There are two versions of the game, a long one and a short one. 这游戏有两个版本，一长一短。
• When both versions of the story were collated,major discrepancies were found. 在将这个故事的两个版本对照后，找出了主要的不符之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 urge   

n.冲动，推动力，迫切的要求；vt.驱策，力劝，力陈，推动；vi.强烈要求

参考例句：

• He has an urge to become a film star.他非常希望成为电影明星。
• We should constantly urge ourselves on to study hard.我们要经常鞭策自己努力学习。

10 fluid   

n.流体，液体；adj.流体的，流动的

参考例句：

• Fluid includes both gasses and liquids.流体包括气体和液体。
• The weather is fluid in summer.夏天天气多变。

11 leaking   

n.漏泄，耗散v.漏( leak的现在分词 )；渗入，漏出；使泄露

参考例句：

• The roof was leaking. 屋顶在漏雨。
• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子

12 Arab   

n.阿拉伯人，阿拉伯马；adj.阿拉伯人的，阿拉伯的

参考例句：

• It's a story about an Arab in the desert.这是一个生活在沙漠地区的阿拉伯人的故事。
• An Arab is travelling in the desert on his camel.一个阿拉伯人正骑着骆驼在沙漠中旅行。

13 strengthen   

vt.加强，变坚固；vi.变强，股票上涨

参考例句：

• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。
• You wish to strengthen our forces in the south?你想要加强我们在南部的势力？

14 vehicles   

n.运载工具；传播媒介；（为展露演员才华而）特意编写的一出戏（或电影等）；[画]展色剂；交通工具( vehicle的名词复数 )；车辆；传播媒介；手段

参考例句：

• There is not much clearance for vehicles passing under this bridge. 车辆在这座桥下通过时没有多少余隙。
• to carry out random spot checks on vehicles 对车辆进行抽检